P. Duwez et al. (J. Appl. Phys. 31, p 1136-37 (1960)) teaches a propelling of a small liquid metal alloy droplet against the target of the inside surface of a high speed rotating cylinder at a suitable angle with centrifugal force acting on the contacting droplet to insure good thermal contact with the target with a large over-all heat transfer rate and to spread the droplet into a thinner layer of solidified material. R. Pond, Jr. et al. (Trans. Met. Soc. AIME Vol. 245, p. 2475-2476, Nov. 1969) discloses casting of metallic fiber by forcing a stream of molten alloy through an orifice onto the inside surface of a spinning drum with the drum's radial acceleration inducing good thermal contact and a spreading of the contacting stream into a flat filament prior to complete solidification.
J. T. Gow (U.S. Pat. No. 2,439,772) uses a revolving container containing a cooling or quenching liquid which from the revolving is formed into an annular vertical wall of revolving liquid into which are thrown globules of molten metal at a substantially normal path thereto to penetrate the liquid rather than glance off. In this process Gow discharges a molten material (e.g. steel) stream into a rotating dish-shaped receptacle to throw metal from its periphery as the small globules being thrown into the annular vertical wall of revolving liquid. Gow in discussion of the prior art also mentions disintegrating molten metal in the form of a stream into droplets by means of impacting the molten metal stream with high pressure steam or water and another method of rapidly rotating drum or paddle wheels hitting a metal stream to throw or bat globules therefrom. T. Yamaguchi et al. (Appl. Phys. Lett. 33(5), Sept. 1, 1978, p. 468-470) teaches preparation of amorphous powder by a water atomization technique in which molten alloy is introduced into the intersection of a pair of high velocity water jets. B. Haak (U.S. Pat. No. 1,782,038) converts salts into globular bodies through a melt being poured onto a rotating disc which throws therefrom droplets towards the walls of a vessel containing a rotating liquid the level of which is higher than the rotating disc by means of intense rotation by a stirrer.
G. R. Leghorn (U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,680) discloses a casting method for selected metal shapes involving flowing a stream of molten metal in heat-transfer contact with one or more streams of cooling liquid mold material flowing in the same direction. For continuous castings the flows of liquid mold material and molten casting metal are synchronized. For tapering and for discrete lengths of the cast shapes there are used differential flows, such as faster flowing mold material to create shearing action at the interfaces of molten casting metal with the flowing mold material. Discrete droplet or spherical castings are shown from breakup of the introduced metal stream by vibration means, such as illustrated by the FIG. 17 embodiment, or by introducing uniform accurately weighed solid particles, such as illustrated by the FIG. 18 embodiment. J. L. Engelke et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,959) also teaches casting of molten metal within a continously flowing stream of liquid as the mold flowing in the same direction so as to form wire. By maintaining the velocity of the mold stream greater than the wire-forming molten filament, the diameter of the filament is reduced by the action of viscous shear forces at the liquid-liquid interface.
S. Kavesh (U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,805) discloses providing metal filaments by a process involving rapid solification of a molten jet in a fluid medium. This process involves forming a free jet of the molten material in a gaseous or evacuated environment, traversal of the free jet through an interface into the fluid medium which is flowing concurrently with and at essentially the same velocity as the jet, and recovering solidified filament. In Col. 7 in discussing factors of temperature of the molten jet and molten jet velocity in relation to fluid velocity in a standpipe, mention is made that "If discontinuous filaments with tapered ends are formed, it is an indication that jet velocity is substantially less than the fluid velocity in the standpipe." and "pearl necklace appearance of the filament . . . may be obtained when the molten jet is superheated, e.g. about 250.degree. C. above its melting point". In Example 7 a molten jet of copper was disrupted and solidified as discrete spheroidal particles in a sodium chloride brine quench fluid in contrast to obtaining filaments in a more rapid quenching magnesium brine quench fluid in the preceding example.